1
Vchatte is Vte+shimatte, "to do completely, to finish doing". The real imperative for iku is ike, which I'm sure you've heard a few times . Te-form by itself is anywhere from mild imperative to urgent request to casual request, mostly based on tone of voice.

November 17, 2013

Noddare

Second season of Strike Witches, episode 4, 19:18: Shirley shouts something that sounds to me like noddare. She screams it again at 19:25.

Coalgirls translates it as "You stupid idiot!" but I don't buy that. I think it probably is the imperative form of a verb that means "Halt!" but I can't find anything in the dictionary that makes any sense. (It isn't tomaru or todaeru because it definitely doesn't start with "t".)

3
Speaking of Japanese there, Shirley challenges Barkhorn to admit that fires were tasty, who replies, "maa-maa da na". For some reason it reminded me how 100-cmdr Kotokeil used it to characterize Lafiel and Basroil's performance in the practice battle. That left a deeper lasting impression.

1
No reason, probably. It's the same variation as des/desu. Some silent vovels are really unpopular though, like "k(u)suri", which I never heard anounciated. Perhaps the character's sense of rhythm required it.

2
It's not actually used by the Emperor - who has a completely different set of words to use to refer to himself. You'll hear them actually used by royalty figures every so often.

It's more of a case where an older usage persisted among a better-educated class and thus became a status signifier after the fact. Definitely does have the connotation that you noted though, that the speaker had an upper-class education.

4
"Watakushi" is the original pronunciation of the word. That's rather hard to pronounce so it naturally got truncated over time with the original pronunciation reserved for people who need to be really, really formal.

The Emperor rarely needs to be really, really formal since he outranks everyone he speaks to. If he spoke to you it would probably be in plain speech.

The generally rule about which characters can be unvoiced seems to be "shi, chi and any non-compound -u character." So you typically hear "Watash'-tachi", "Watak'sh'-tachi" or "Watakush'-tachi" depending on how fast the speaker is talking.

On second thought I take that back. Assuming that you are not Japanese the Emperor would probably choose a formal but not obsequious level of speech. Uchi/sota (in-group/out-group) distinctions usually override distinctions in rank. The dignity of the Japanese nation would probably require addressing a foreigner formally.

6
As a practical matter I didn't think any foreigner could get close to the Emperor, unless it's a head of state or some equally important dignitary. Joe Slob Tourist ain't gonna get within a mile of Him.

August 03, 2013

Remember episode 10 of Girls und Panzer, which includes a long segment of all the tank crews eating dinner the night before the last match? They're all eating pork cutlets. I had noticed that, but didn't understand why.

Peter says it's a pun that has become a superstition. A fried pork cutlet is katsu. And...

Because katsu also means "to win" in Japanese, it's common for parents to serve this to their kids before a big test or sporting event to show their support.

1
He has mentioned before that that's the reason Kit-Kat candy bars are so popular there, as well. "kitto katsu" = "you will surely win". The Japanese arm of Nestle has made hundreds of different flavors of them over time.

June 30, 2013

"Live long and prosper"

Episode 5 of Mouretsu Pirates, at 22:00, Marika has just informed Ririka that she's decided to become captain of the Bentenmaru. Ririka responds with something that Coalgirls translated as "Live long and prosper."

I think what she actually says is na naiki suru no da yo. I think that means "To do so is your tradition!". Is that right?

(Note that it really is Marika's tradition, as Gonzaemon's daughter. It isn't Ririka's tradition; she married into the line, and she herself isn't eligible to hold the Letter of Marque.)

June 20, 2013

"Koi!"

I keep running into this, in battle situations. "Koi!" variously translated as "here!" or "bring it!" or "Go ahead and try!". Problem is, I can't find a definition in the dictionary for this usage that makes sense, for any spelling I can think of.

請い koi "request, entreaty" seems a bit farfetched but it's at least in the ball park.

1
I didn't know what it is, but I left him a comment that I hope is helpful. In most such cases one can find lots of info just by entering the product name into Google. The point is, you don't need to know what the heck the name means, just look at pictures.

March 05, 2013

Get ready!

There's something which people say in fighting anime, a warning to their enemy just before launching a finishing move, that gets translated as "Prepare yourself" or something similar. One example is ep 3 of Mondaijitachi at 18:02.

It's Asuka, and it sounds to me like kaku no nasai.

Another example is in Ikki Tousen Dragon Destiny ep 12 at 16:35. That one is Hakufu and what she says is kaku ga.

I can't find any meaning for "kaku", "kaaku", "kakku" or any other variation that makes any sense. What is it that they're saying?

1
I know there actually using a shortened form of a longer phrase, which probably suggests it's archaic in some form. It might be "kak'kunasai" or something like that, by sound alone in the Mondaijitachi clip.

Nihongodict has " 覚悟を決める kakugowokimeru " as "to prepare oneself". Guessing the "覚" is the "kaku" you need, though you'll need someone much better with the language than me to make a command-to-others out of that.

I think that probably is the one. It may be that what Asuka is saying is kakugo nasai. That would be in character. (When she uses her command power she still speaks using polite forms, such as appending kudasai to her command.)

It still sounds to me like kakuno nasai but some regional accents are known for softening "g" sounds to "ng" or "n".